BORN IN SLO
Being born in San Luis Obispo, I grew up like your average kid — collecting baseball cards and comic books, playing army and Dungeons & Dragons, building forts, riding BMX, and bodyboarding the icy waves of Avila Beach. I never owned a wetsuit, so the water always felt freezing, and the waves seemed huge.
In my early teens, I discovered skateboarding and instantly became hooked. I looked up to the Future Primitive crew, especially Lance Mountain and Tony Hawk. Any free moment I had was spent at local mini ramps, reading Transworld Skateboarding magazine, or street skating around town. Though I never got rid of my skateboards, my love for riding waves eventually came full circle, leading me back to the ocean — this time at my local surf spot in Pismo Beach.
When I started junior high, I met my friend Gabe Loyd — someone who would go on to change my life forever. At the time, Gabe’s dad, Aaron Loyd, was a professional surf photographer for Surfing and Bodyboarding Magazine. Coincidentally, Aaron had gone to school with my mom and had even done some freelance work for my grandpa’s shop, Goss Body Shop. I remember the day like it was yesterday — Gabe came to school with a stack of Surfing and Bodyboarding stickers and started handing them out. He gave me a few, and from that moment on, my passion shifted from skateboarding to bodyboarding. Gabe and I quickly became close friends through junior high and high school, spending countless hours racing remote control cars, playing Zelda and Mario Brothers, and taking endless bodyboarding trips to Pismo and up the coast once he got his license. After school, my friends and I would get dropped off at the beach by one of our moms, and another mom would pick us up later. On weekends, I’d spend the entire day there with maybe five dollars in my pocket and one rule to follow: don’t stay in Pismo after dark because “it was dangerous.”
My passion for motocross took off when I got my first dirt bike — a Yamaha YZ80 — bought from a local racer who had it all souped up. (8th grade graduation present)
*Top photo is Scotty Stopnik taken in Newport Beach and the one here is Donavon Frankenretier from Galapagos Island (wearing my shirt)
PISMO BEACH
When I was about 17, I took a photography class that lasted two periods. During that time, I’d race down to Pismo to photograph some of the best local surfers I could find—people like Sean Askins, Walter Cerny, Rick Gannon, Chris Doll, and bodyboarders Simon Mason, Heath Erickson, and Jeremy Haughey. Looking back, those were some of my favorite years of shooting surf photography. By then, I had bought my first camera, a Canon T90, and picked up a water housing from Aaron, along with his Canon 800mm manual-focus lens.
NORTH SHORE OAHU
I took my first trip to Oahu’s North Shore when I was 18, after spending the summer working at a local restaurant called Trader Nick’s in Pismo Beach. I stayed with the Arakawa family at Waimea Bay before eventually finding a long-term place at Sunset Beach. I bought a beat-up car and had a weekly budget of about $100 for food and gas.
"Same sh_t different decade ...never followed a single trend ...made my own" - Joel Tudor
SURFING MAG & TRANSWORLD SURF
I eventually made the move from Pismo Beach to Cardiff-by-the-Sea — home to legends like Rob Machado and Paul Roach — where I became a senior photographer for Bodyboarding and Surfing Magazine under the guidance of Larry “Flame” Moore and editor Nick Carroll. My travels during that time took me to Isla Natividad, Cabo San Lucas, the Mentawais, Costa Rica, Peru, Tahiti, Puerto Escondido, and El Salvador.
When TransWorld Surf launched, I joined forces with editor Joel Patterson and photo editors Steve Sherman and Peter Taras. That chapter brought adventures across Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Portugal, the Galápagos, Ireland, Barbados, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Chile, Brazil, and Réunion Island — covering the WCT tour alongside surfers like Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, Mick Fanning, Dane Reynolds, and Taj Burrow, as well as free surfers such as Benji Weatherley, Donavon Frankenreiter, Dave Rastovich, and countless others.
*Scotty Stopnik on the south side of the Oceanside pier
ABOUT
Jack English is a renowned editorial and advertising photographer based in North County, San Diego. He has served as senior photographer for leading surf publications including Surfer, Surfing Magazine, and TransWorld Surf. Jack’s work spans a wide range of clients—from major advertising agencies to top news outlets such as ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX—and his photography has appeared in hundreds of magazines including Maxim, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Men’s Health, among many others.
Throughout his career, Jack has traveled to more than twenty-three countries, documenting the world’s most elite surfers on the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) and WSL (World Surf League) tours, capturing legends like Dane Reynolds, Kelly Slater, and John John Florence. Widely regarded as one of the most sought-after photographers in professional surfing, Jack has collaborated with premier global brands such as Target, Burton, Reef, PacSun, Nixon, Vans, Oakley, Billabong, Quiksilver, Hurley, RVCA, Rip Curl, Swell, O’Neill, and Volcom.
"RUN WHAT YOU BRUNG" - Meatball
It was a simple Hell On Wheels post I found one day on Scotty Stopnik's instagram where I was introduced to vintage motocross racing, I was hooked.
SEA OF SEVEN - RAISE YOUR FLAG
From my background inside the surfing industry and the love of vintage motocross I started Sea Of Seven - "Where The Sea Meets The Dirt" - Jack English
